Wallabies and Western Force fullback and wing Cameron Shepherd has agreed to join Aviva Premiership Rugby club Northampton Saints.
rugbyweek
After six years in Perth the 28-year-old, 6’2″, Shepherd has become the Force’s leading points scorer.
Shepherd was first recognised in Sydney by the Waratahs, which led to representative honours with Australia Under-21, Australia ‘A’ and Australia.
The first of his nine caps came against England – the country of his birth – in 2006 and he also played for the Wallabies in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Regarded as one of Australian rugby’s most talented attacking players, Shepherd is excited by the prospect of pulling on the black, green and gold in Aviva Premiership Rugby and the Heineken Cup.
“It’s an exciting opportunity for me,” he said. “I’ve heard lots of good things about Jim Mallinder as a coach and about the Saints as a club.”
“Jim has got the team playing a great brand of rugby which I believe suits my style of play and to which I think I’ve got a lot to offer.
“It is definitely going to be a new challenge for me. The Premiership is a tough competition and there are a lot of teams which like to play exciting rugby, especially the Saints. ”
“You can see that with the quality of player that there is at the club, players like Ben Foden and George Pisi, who are established internationals.
“I’m looking forward to playing with those guys and the rest of the squad, and for playing for a club which has a great reputation and an amazing history.
“Northampton is similar to the Force in that it has a great fanbase behind the team and I’m looking forward to showing the Saints supporters what I can do as a player.
“I can’t wait to get there.”
Director of rugby Jim Mallinder says that Shepherd is a good addition to the Saints squad.
“Cameron is a very talented player who has shown regularly that he has the ability and temperament to compete at the highest level,” he said.
“He has a positive impact for his team’s attacking capability but is also sold defensively and under the high ball.”
“He will also give us another goal kicking option, and his versatility and quality will give us added depth in the back three positions.